Diesel price differences: Can you afford it?
Filling station operators explain their diesel pricing methods.
Strikes, unemployment, riots and escalating living expenses leave Roodepoorters forever asking where they can save a rand or two.
Diesel prices per litre are not regulated by the Department of Energy (DoE) as is the case with petrol, which left residents asking just how much the difference is. Can you afford to go to your nearest filling station to fill up on diesel, or must you bargain hunt for the cheapest price per litre? The record investigated, visiting 12 filling stations (from five different brands and one that is privately owned) between Witpoortjie and Bosmont on Thursday 12 June. Diesel cost between R13,15 and R13,96 per litre. Where the operators (owners) of the filling stations were available for a quick chat, they were asked just how they determine their prices.
Theo Reid-Robertson who has a filling station on Ontdekkers Road, says the brand from which he leases his site requires owners to determine a price within a margin known as RAS (the Regulatory Accounting System). This means that at most they make R1,30 on fuel per litre. Reid-Robertson charges a fairly average price per litre as he says that he has to be fair to staff and has other overhead costs to consider.
“I charge my customers below full margin (R1,30) to remain competitive but also to give them the advantage of cheaper fuel.
“The pricing depends on how much fuel you pump at your station per month and how much of it is diesel.
“It also depends on what your competitor is asking and how close they are situated to your site.”
Both Reid-Robertson and Tiaan de Waal, who leases a site in Witpoortjie, explain that RAS has affected their pricing as of December last year. The DoE implemented the system in 2013 to introduce transparency in the industry and root out inefficiencies. It works on the principle of margin following investment, which means that the owner of the asset gets full compensation for it whereas the operator of the asset gets the return for operating it. In both Reid-Robertson and De Waal’s cases, to price competitively means that they price below the margin and lose out on potential profit.
For the average motorist with a diesel-driven vehicle this means a difference of up to 81 cents per litre in the greater Roodepoort area. The current diesel index price, as of 4 June, is R12,80 per litre.
What diesel might cost you at some filling stations in the greater Roodepoort area
• Witpoortjie: R13,59 – R13,80
• Roodepoort West: R13,89
• Horison: R13,90
• Ontdekkerspark: R13,81
• Constantia Kloof: R13,94
• Florida Hills: R13,22
• Florida View: R13,22
• Westbury and Newclare: R13,15
• Bosmont: R13,96
• Robertville: R13,47 – R13,49
